The result was wonderfully typical of the conflict-averse Midwest. The principal found that the prom’s rules allowed senior students to bring a date of their choice and made no mention of gender. So he allowed it. People more or less accepted the verdict, and the dance took place without incident. Life went on.

The latest gay-rights-related battle is unfolding in litigious and politically contentious California, so it’s unlikely to be resolved with such quiet diplomacy. It involves AB 1266, the so-called “transgendered bathroom bill” that Gov. Jerry Brown signed in August.

“This bill would require that a pupil be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records,” according to the official summary.

Recently, parents – worried that their daughters will be forced to share locker rooms with boys – rallied at the Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters. One group is asking parents to fill out forms putting schools on legal notice that their children have a “reasonable expectation of privacy.”

Supporters say the law is necessary to assure that transgendered children are accommodated in the public schools, but opponents say state law already forbids such discrimination. School officials interviewed in a U-T article say they currently take steps to deal with this small minority of students. Many advocates admit that it’s about more than accommodation, but about promoting social acceptance.

Some officials already allow these students to, for instance, use faculty bathrooms. Others take different approches. Many small-town districts might not be as sympathetic as those in bigger cities. That would argue for a narrow law – one that, say, requires reasonable local measures.

Religious conservatives often are criticized for stirring up culture battles. But this law shows that it’s not just the Right that backs wedge issues to achieve broader social change. If you want to get people agitated, then do something that directly affects their kids.

Transgendered students often experience real discrimination and difficulties. But it’s hard to believe that people’s attitudes will soften in the divisive, politically charged atmosphere that has resulted because of the law.

Some conservative fears seem overblown. Will boys really pretend to be girls so that they can invade girls’ locker rooms? Schools generally know which students really are transgendered, officials say. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t more serious arguments that should have gotten a broader hearing.

“Placement on competitive sports teams affects college admissions and scholarship money,” argues former GOP Assemblyman Chris Norby of Orange County, a social moderate. “Boys claiming female identities still have all the male physical advantages.” Norby thinks such laws will encourage officials to classify certain students, thus locking them into a gender identity that might otherwise be transitory.

Some education reformers see it as another case for a system of school choice, where parents can send their kids to schools that are best suited to deal with any special needs that they may have, including gender issues. That is a potential long-term solution, but the political battle is under way now.

Maybe it’s naive to think that 1970s South Dakota has lessons for modern California, but it would be nice to see these matters handled with fewer state dictates and political agendas, and more wisdom, kindness and local problem-solving.